


Maria's Legacy

by Rowantreeisme



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Family, Fluff, Gen, Not Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Two Compliant, Pepper-centric, Tony Stark and his army of cousins, Tony Stark has a Huge Family, Tony-centric, Tree Houses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-04 02:33:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10981536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rowantreeisme/pseuds/Rowantreeisme
Summary: Tony had a small family. That was accepted as fact, and most people didint even count half the people who were in it. But, what if that was wrong?





	1. Chapter 1

It’s one of Tony’s best-kept secrets, simply because no-one thought to look. Tony Stark has no family. That’s what most people think, but that’s because they only ever looked at Howard, all his secrets and life and everything, and never Maria.   
  
Pepper wondered, when she first got the job, what the week-long marked-off section in may was. There was no information, not even a place, and when she asked Tony, he just grinned and said, “Personal Trip.”   
  
Later, when he could trust her, he brought her along. No explanation, just shuffled her onto the plane, grinning the whole time.   
  
The landed in Milan, which in itself, wasn't unusual, they had lots of business in Italy. What came after, though, that was very much unusual. They shuffled cars a couple times, and then they drove into the countryside, up into the rolling foothills.   
  
They drove up to a big old house, but the kind of old that looked lived in, the kind of old that had footsteps worn into the floors and handprints on the walls from generations of children, and the kind of big that wasn't so much grand, as it was necessary.    
  
It turned out to be very much necessary, because as they grew closer, Tony rolled down the windows, and a flock of children ranging from mid-teens to barely bigger than toddlers, who had been kicking around a ball on the hilly lawn, jogged beside the car, calling out in Italian which Tony answered as he coasted up the driveway, to where there were about two dozen other cars parked, creeping onto the grass.   
  
They tugged Tony this way and that as soon as they got out of the car, but he didn't even flinch, let them grab his sleeves and tug at his hands, and one little girl with wide brown eyes even got a piggy-back ride towards the door.   
  
Some of them dashed around Pepper, nearly making her trip, and she heard Tony introducing her over the what the hell is going on that was looping inside her head.   
  
An older woman, with grey streaking her brown hair and holding a baby with the same brown eyes, opened the door, and welcomed them both with a hug and a kiss on the cheek, and an Italian greeting for Tony that made him smile. “You must be Pepper.” She said, warmth in her eyes, and gestured for them to come up, shooing the children away from both of them. “We’ll have to do the introductions now, before the  _ bambini _ steal away their favourite uncle.” She said, and Pepper could do nothing but follow Tony’s lead as he took off his shoes, and followed the other woman up a flight of stairs, into a large kitchen area where even more people were talking and laughing, and each of them greeted Tony warmly, like family, because that’s what they were.

Tony disappeared after greeting all of them, stolen, as Tony’s aunt had predicted, by the many, many children.

Supper was a production, somehow everyone managing to fit around three separate tables, though it was a bit of a tight squeeze. There weren't quite enough chairs, but benches and stools and even one armchair had all been shoved around the table. There were about a dozen different conversations happening at once, in both Italian and fragmented English, which Pepper was trying her best to understand. 

She made a mental note to start learning Italian, as Tony laughed at something one of them had said. He kept glancing at her, because he was  _ nervous _ . He’d trusted her with his family. So, in the next break in the flow of conversation, and the next time she glanced at her, she smiled at him.

He seemed to relax after that, and leaned over in breaks in the conversation to tell her about this cousin, who was starting her own business, and this niece, who was having a baby in the fall, and piece by piece, she learned about his family.

Immediately after desert, all the kids had dragged a very willing Tony outside again, and Pepper was shanghaied into dishwashing duty. She and another woman were washing the dishes, and passing them off to another pair, who were drying and putting things away. The dishes were done in almost no-time, and Pepper followed everyone out onto the large deck, watching the sunset, drinking wine, and chatting.

A couple hours later, well into the night, everyone began to split off, seemingly already knowing where their rooms were. Pepper was shown to hers, and since even a house of this size was hard-pressed to house everyone, and she was Tony’s guest, they’d be sharing a room. 

When she protested this, the woman who was walking down the hall with her just laughed. “Oh no. It’s the same as when Rhodes visits, when he can. There’s a foldout couch, though knowing Tony, it’s not going to get unfolded.” She said, and leaned in conspiratorially. “We think he’s allergic to sleeping on anything remotely resembling a bed.” 

 

The next morning when Pepper got up, before the sun, as usual, Tony was sprawled on the still-folded couch, still in the clothes he was wearing yesterday, grass-stained and muddy with scratches on his arms and more than a couple leaves in his hair, like he had taken two steps into the room, and face planted onto the nearest soft object.

Breakfast was even more of a production than dinner last night had been, because while dinner had been largely pre-prepared, brunch had to be cooked from scratch. Everyone had a job, even the kids, from setting the table to cooking eggs, and Tony was cutting an alarming amount of fruit for a salad. Or, considering how many people there were, not all that alarming.

The rest of the five days continued like that, with good food and gossip, and Tony being dragged in several directions at once by kids, off to climb trees or catch salamanders in the woods behind the house. 

Pepper learned every one of their names, and during the last day, the kids dragged her out too, back into the woods to a huge fort made of fallen tree limbs, with live saplings woven in among them. There were kids arguing about where to put a branch, kids climbing up the tree above the fort, and Tony was sitting in the middle of it all, holding up a newer section while it was being constructed around him, with three girls taking turns sticking flowers and leaves in his hair.

She laughed, clapping her hands over her mouth and giggling. Tony turned his head to her, grinning and opening his mouth like he was going to say something when part of the structure collapsed, and a branch hit him solidly on the head.

He flinched, but didn't move from where he was holding up most of the section, flowers spilling out of his hair as he turned to look up at the boy sitting in the tree above him, looking sheepish. There was a barrage of quick Italian, not _exactly_ scolding, which Pepper was pretty sure roughly translated to “I’m not mad, but please do not do that again.” and numerous apologies from the boy.

Someone passed the fallen branch back up to the boy, and very, very gently, and with lots of direction from Tony, put it in its proper place. It held, and the whole place erupted back into movement. 

Pepper was drafted into working as well, glad that she had chosen to wear shorts and a tee-shirt today. She helped reach high-up nooks and branches that no one else could reach, and lifted children to place branches of their own. The same three girls had put flowers in her hair as well, quite a large amount and variety, but not nearly as impressive as Tony’s collection. His head looked like a bush in full bloom.

Eventually, when the sun was hanging low over the horizon, casting the tree-filled valley in shadow, the structure Tony was supporting, a platform about 6 feet off the ground and connecting two trees, was finished, and he stepped out from under it, and it held. The kids cheered, and started swarming on it, climbing and swinging and thoroughly testing its integrity in a way only children could.

Tony stood back from the main fort, looking proudly at the newest section of the fort, still swarming with children. He caught her gaze, and grinned. “They’re good kids.” He said, and took her arm. “I wanna show you something.” He said, and tugged her into the largest, and oldest, part of the fort. There was a huge dead trunk in the centre of it, branches stretching out through the rest of it like a spine, holding it together. She stepped closer, and carved on the bark were names, old, weathered initials near the bottom, and newer ones stretching up along the length.

She crouched, and traced one of them, a faded, uneven TS with her finger. “I was 6 when my mom brought me here the first time. The fort was a lot smaller, than. Some of my cousins started it, and it’s been growing ever since.” Tony said, and she could hear him behind her, not moving, just letting her trace all the  _ history _ here. The JR, much newer, and much neater, carved next to Tony’s initials.

She stood up, and was surprised when Tony handed her a small pocket knife. Surprise turned to realisation, and she nearly dropped it trying to give it back to him. “I can’t- I’m not-” She started to say, and Tony cut her off.

“Hey, stop that. You’ve certainly put enough work into it, and it’s tradition at this point. You wouldn't want to break tradition, would you?” He asked, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he held his hands up, refusing to take the knife from her.

She relaxed, and smiled back. “Well, I’m certainly not opposed to breaking tradition when it’s asking for it.” She said, flipping open the knife, and crouching back down. “This one seems like a good one, though.” She said, and carved a small PP next to Tony’s initials. She straightened, and passed the knife back. “Thank you.”

 

And that was how Pepper found out that Tony’s family was much, much larger than she ever would’ve expected.

 

Now that she knew about it, was trusted with it, and was  _ part _ of it, it turned out that they contacted Tony near-constantly. She’d steadily learned Italian, and could converse fairly well with most of them, at that point.

Video calls from all the little cousins, on birthdays and holidays, which were always conveniently timed so Pepper was around when they called, tugged into the frame to sing happy birthday to the third kid that month. Tony always made little trinkets for them, toy trains or metal faries, little hand-made gifts that were as sturdy as they were as beautiful.

To her embarrassment, they started calling her “Aunt Pepper” whenever they saw her. Or, to her embarrassment, until one of the kids took it upon himself to explain to her her  _ why _ she was an aunt. 

“Well, you're not a cousin, and your not a _grandma_ , so you gotta be an aunt!” Said the boy on the screen, grinning at her, not minding that he was missing two teeth. “Like Uncle Rhodey!” He said, and she couldn't help but smile at him.

 

The only time they ever called  _ her _ , was after Tony failed to come back from Afghanistan. She was in the workshop, desperately trying to comfort the bots with JARVIS, who just  _ didn't understand _ why their  _ father  _ wasn't coming home, and she’d be lying if they weren't comforting her, in a small part, too. 

She was trying, and sobbing, and they wouldn't let her  _ leave  _ because Rhodey was in the hospital and she had to go see him, and she was frantically trying to collect herself because there’d be press outside the hospital and the military hadn’t approved an official statement yet and  _ any  _ response from were was going to spark half a dozen new pieces of speculation and-

Her phone rang, even though she had silenced it in more ways than she could count, and she nearly threw it across the room before she saw the caller ID. She answered, and put it on speaker, because her face was wet with tears.

She didn't even try to stop crying, and she heard more than one muffled intake of breath over the line and a soft “Oh god.”

She managed to collect herself, a tiny amount, one shard shoved back into it’s place, or close enough. “It’s- it’s not- there wasn't a body- he could-” She stuttered, and sobbed, the bots still not understanding, but hearing  _ enough _ , because there hadn't been a body but there’d been so much blood, and the vehicles were torn apart like tissue paper, and he  _ could _ , but it was a snowball’s chance in hell.

But, they were  _ Tony’s _ . And they still had hope. It would be cruel to keep it from the kids, and they mourned, and there was no funeral, but Pepper and Rhodey both flew out to the estate, and together with the rest of his family, covered the fort that’d built up for more than two decades in candles and flowers and tools, a private memorial that would always be more meaningful than any other service.

His initials, scratched into the trunk of the tree that was the backbone of the fort all those years ago, they filled with gold, a slightly clear resin that seemed to glow from the inside, reflecting the light of the candles and the moon, breaking through the roof of leaves and branches.

It was somber, but bright and still filled with  _ life _ . It would’ve been perfect, but Tony wasn't there.

 

Except they found him. Three months later and with enough tears to fill a river, they found him. Pepper had expected him to fly straight to Italy, no matter the press or the company, but he didn't.

He hid away in the workshop for weeks, too skinny and with far too many new scars, tearing down his company to build  _ something  _ else up, and Pepper didn't know what do.

And then  _ Stane _ turned out to be behind it all, and Pepper shouldn't have been surprised at the lengths Tony would go to protect his family, because she’d already seen it, half a dozen car changes and shell company upon shell company, shielding them from any connection to  _ Stark _ . 

Pepper had pulled that lever to override the reactor, knowing that she’d have to tell each and every person he loved, who loved  _ him _ , that he was cinders in a factory, and that he’d died fighting a person he’d trusted that was trying to kill him and everything he was working for.

She’d pulled that lever, and all she could see in behind the flare of power was the tree fort burning, burning, burning down. Ashes and cinders, and smoke and destruction. She’d pulled the lever, and lit the match.

Tony survived. A little worse for wear, in both mind and body, but he survived. It’s what he did. And he was a superhero, and revealed that to the entire world, and she  _ knew  _ that he was thinking about his family, and hoping that they would be proud, and Pepper didn't know how to tell him they always were.

They’d flown to Italy that May, with all three of the bots, because they all  _ refused _ to let Tony out of their sight, and really, so did Pepper and Rhodey. Rhodey wasn't on the plane with them, but he’d be there in time for supper.

She’d helped him wrap bandages around the reactor, muting the glow, and even though she didn't ask, he answered anyway. “They’re just kids. They shouldn't have to know how cruel the world can be.” He said, as he pulled his shirt down over the bandages, two layers when before he’d only worn one.

_ Neither should you, _  she didn't say, just answered his sad smile with her own.

The little cousins were all  _ delighted _ to finally meet Dummy and Butterfingers and You, climbing on their struts, all the bots being exceedingly gentle with them

That night, they’d all walked down to the fort, and slowly, victoriously, with a Dremel because the unpowered tools weren't working, Tony scraped the resin out of his initials, leaving them plain wood once more.

The night had gone as it always had after that, the kids tugging Tony off to catch frogs and newts and climb trees to look at stars, and Pepper and Rhodey, both exhausted, had taken the room, Pepper on the bed and Rhodey on the fold-out, assuming that Tony would eventually pile onto the couch with Rhodey, like they had in college. 

So, when they both woke up early, courtesy of military and business, and saw no Tony in the room, they were concerned.

Until they’d walked into the living room, both still in their horrible 6 dollar Iron Man pyjamas, (because their friend was a superhero, and with great power came terrible merch, and they were abusing that power  _ greatly _ .) To see a group of kids, plus the bots, clustered around the couch.

Tony was (badly) feigning sleep on the couch, lips twitching, sprawled out with an arm hanging off the back, and a leg hanging off the end, as the kids took turns placing little plastic dinosaurs on a tower on his forehead.

Pepper and Rhodey watched with bated breath as one of the younger kids, holding a bright yellow stegosaurus, climbed on top of Dummy to add to the tower. It held. The next kid went, and the next, and finally, the tower fell. 

Tony stopped pretending he was asleep and burst into laughter, the kids with him, shaking so hard he nearly fell off the couch, hand thrown over his face, which was scrunched up in a grin. Pepper and Rhodey started laughing too, couldn't help it, and Tony blinked open his eyes to look at them, only to laugh even harder when he saw what they were wearing. Pepper exchanged a glance with Rhodey, and she could tell that they were both thinking the same thing.  _ We’re so gonna get these for everyone _ .

And, they did. The Christmas picture that year was a mass of red and gold, both yellow paper cutouts taped onto red shirts, and elaborately knitted sweaters that looked exactly like the armour. One of Tony’s older cousins was to thank for that, as an avid knitter, had made an Iron Man themed  _ something _ for everyone. 

The younger kids got over the fact that their favourite uncle was a superhero quickly, not that surprisingly. After all, they loved him for him, because he was the fun adult who’d climb trees and catch newts and play any made-up game you’d like, not for his money or his name or his power.

 

The years continued like that, with cousins growing older and moving off to university, and as new family were born and they grew older, they added their initials to the trunk of the fort, which was nearly a city at that point.

And then, the Avengers happened and wormed their own way into Tony’s family by fighting together and trusting each other despite everything in their pasts, and Pepper grinned along with Tony as they shuffled 5 other very confused Avengers plus Coulson into the jet.

It was strange, to be on the in, watching the people who weren't in just yet get there. The car shuffle was trickier this time, needing a much larger car to fit all 9 of them, the avengers plus Coulson, Rhodey, and Pepper, which was a limo, and 3 different minivans. 

As they drove closer to the house, Pepper and Rhodey kept breaking into helpless bouts of giggles, which earned them quite a few looks. “Is anyone else getting murder vibes here?” Clint asked, turning in his seat to look at everyone else. “Because I'm getting murder vibes. I mean, I’m not  _ complaining _ , per-se, this is a pretty nice place for a murder ditch, but still.” He said, and this time, Tony joined in on the laughter as well.

Natasha and Coulson both looked very, very confused, and suspicious, which seemed to manifest at the same time on those two. Which meant that SHIELD didn't know about the army of relatives Tony had. Which meant that  _ somebody  _ was going to get fired. 

The pulled up the the house, coasting along the driveway as the cousins mobbed the van, running along beside it until it parked. 

The looks of absolute terrified befuddlement on the SHIELD agent’s faces were  _ amazing _ . Pepper hoped JARVIS got a picture of them. Other than the SHIELD agents, though, who were having minor existential crises as Tony introduced them, Thor, Bruce, and Steve were also looking slightly confused, but all seemed genuinely happy to see the kids and meet everyone. The knitting cousin, who Pepper heard had been nesting in skeins of yarn since Tony had told the family that they were getting new members, ambushed them with knitted sweaters of themselves. Even Coulson had got one, a large pullover that looked almost exactly like a suit.

Pepper watched 7 new initials carved on the trunk of the fort that week, clustered around Tony’s still slightly golden ones, and smiled herself to sleep.

 

People only ever talked about Howard’s legacy, what he’d left his son, his heir. Howard’s legacy was weapons and wealth and a name, icy absences and harsh lessons learned too early.

No one ever talked about Maria’s. Maria’s Legacy was music, and heart and family, old tree forts and carved names.

It’s easy to see which one’s worth more.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some very important members of the family haven't added their names to the tree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Father's Day!

Tony was in the workshop. In itself, that wouldn't've been unsal, but he’d been down there for three days, and Pepper could tell it wasn't something for SHIELD or SI, based on the way he was grinning like he had a secret whenever he surfaced for coffee, and she knew it wasn't the armor, because he’d told her so.

Tony lived in the workshop pretty much constantly, and he’d gone on binges _much_ longer than three days, so that, in itself, would not be concerning.

The concerning bit was that tomorrow was the day they’d all hop on the plane to go visit his family, and he was still in the workshop.

None of the Avengers were able to lure him out, so they’d called in the big guns. Which, in this case, was Pepper, seeing as Rhodey would be meeting them there.

“Tony, please let me in!” She called, from where she was standing in front of the blacked-out workshop glass.

The screen beside the door blinked to life, and Pepper transferred her glare to it. “Hia Pep!” He said, seeming completely unconcerned with the fact that they needed to be on a plane in less than 4 hours, and he was still wearing welding gear. Well, a tank top was not exactly proper equipment, considering the spectacular tan he was sporting, but he had the helmet and gloves on, and that was probably as close as he was going to get. One of the bots beeped excitedly over the speakers, and Tony turned around to see. and his eyes widened as he rushed off screen. “You, no, you can’t-” He began, voice distant as he moved further from the speaker, and Pepper winced at the crash. “Yeah, sure blame me. Because this totally _isn't- oh my god_ , I will leave you like this if you don’t- there, that’s better, one sec-” He said, and when stepped back into the frame, there was a streak of oil on his face. “Yeah?”

Pepper resisted the urge to bury her face in her hands. “Tony, we have to leave in four hours. You need to get ready!”

“Five hours,” Tony said, a little distractedly.

She blinked. “What?”

“Five hours, not four, we’re taking the quinjet, remember? No drive time.” He said, and Pepper wanted to sigh. That was _not_ the point, and he knew it. “Pepper, I’m going to be ready, I promise.” He said, suddenly serious. “When have I ever been late to this?” He said, and she had to give him that. He looked back over his shoulder at more beeping. “I have to get back to this, I'll be ready, I promise. Just give me like three more hours. At the most.” He said, and the screen cut off before Pepper could reply.

She tilted her head up at the ceiling, a habit she knew Tony thought was ridiculous, but it wasn't one she was going to shake. “JARVIS?” She asked.

“I will make sure he finishes his… project in time.” JARVIS said, warm and amused.

That eased a considerable amount of worry from Pepper’s mind. “What is it?” She asked.

“I believe he wishes it to be a surprise.” JARVIS said.

Pepper smiled. “Is it a good surprise?”

“It is a very good surprise.”

***

4 hours later, exactly on time, Pepper and everyone else arrived at the quinjet, and were surprised to already see Tony sitting in the pilot's seat, mostly clean, except for a oil streak on the back of his neck, and changed, and from the looks of things, already starting the pre-flight checks. He grinned at them over his shoulder as they took their seats, and Pepper smiled back, turning to take a seat.

And then she froze. “Tony, why is the armour on the plane.” She asked, staring at the suit that was sitting straight, tall, and unpowered on one of the seats, buckled in like any other passenger.

Tony just turned back to the controls. “Surprise!” He singsonged, closing the bay door when everyone had taken their seats and buckled in. “Thank you for flying Air Stark, we hope you enjoy your flight, if you don’t, doors over that way.” He called cheerfully, and the jet hummed to life. “We ready to go?” He asked, and everybody nodded in agreement.

The trip was shorter, of course it was, with the Avenger’s jet, though not nearly as high-class or comfortable as a private jet. Pepper didn't mind, though, because Clint had the foresight to bring a pack of cards, and everyone was playing cheat while JARVIS flew the plane. “Three tens.” Clint said, dropping the cards on the ever-growing discard pile, glancing around at them with a smirk as if daring anyone to call it.

No one did. After all, Clint had the biggest hand of them all, having thrown caution and strategy to the wind and instead had set himself on a mission to fuck over everyone at any possible time, no matter the personal cost. So far, that cost had been well over a third of the entire deck, which he was having trouble fitting in his hands.

Pepper considered her modest hand, organised in order. “Two jacks.” She said and dropped one seven, and one five on the pile.

Natasha gave her a look, eyes glinting, and Pepper smiled sweetly at her, knowing that Natasha only needed one word to ruin her chance at winning.

Natasha opened her mouth, staring right at Pepper, but Thor interpreted what she was going to say. “One Queen!” Thor boomed, all but throwing his card, which everyone knew was a queen, Thor had a thing about not lying when it came to Queens, onto the pile.

Natasha shot him a glare, but Thor seemed oblivious. Until he turned, ever-so-slightly, and winked, obviously and exaggerated, right at Pepper.

Not many people seemed to realise that Thor, sweet as he was, had been raised to be a king, and grew up with the god of mischief as his brother. He could be quite crafty when he needed to, and hid it exceedingly well under a wide-eyed guise of ignorance.

Which was probably why he was almost winning, when Pepper thought about it. Natasha dropped a pair of kings on the pile, which no one called her on.

“Four aces.” Bruce said, softly, and ever so carefully put his cards, his last four cards, down on the pile. Everybody still heard him, though.

Pepper skimmed through her hand, which was ace-free. She could see the others do the same, but they all kept their poker faces. Except for Tony. Tony was grinning at Bruce with unbridled glee. “Cheat.” He crowed.

Bruce shrugged, and Pepper could feel the tension in the air as he flipped over the first card. It was the ace of hearts. Bruce flipped over the second card, even slower than the first. Ace of clubs. Tony was starting to look nervous. Bruce, smiling slightly now, and not having broken eye-contact with Tony the whole time, turned over the third card. It was the ace of diamonds.

There was chaos when Bruce flipped over the fourth card, shouts and laughter and Clint was cackling.

It was the two of spades.

Bruce, always a good sport when it came to card games, gave Tony a shit-eating grin as he scooped his pile up. “Almost got you.” He said, and nobody else had time to play their hand before JARVIS announced that the jet would be starting its descent.

The jet landed in the lawn, battering the trees and shrubs which surrounded the driveway with wind. The bay door opened, and Pepper waved to the group of adults, holding the kids back from the jet until the engines stopped running.

After that, it seemed, everyone and everything, including the jet, was fair game. The jet was thoroughly investigated, and if JARVIS had not been watching over everything to make sure none of them set off the missiles by accident, Pepper would’ve been very concerned. Clint had already been tugged out onto the lawn and given a homemade slingshot, which would only end poorly, and Thor was giving piggybacks to multiple kids at once, sprinting around the lawn. Steve, as usual, had gone off to greet and thank all the adults, and especially Tony’s grandma, who organised each may.

Natasha and Bruce were standing a little awkwardly off to the side, like they always did at first, but Pepper had no doubt that they’d be laughing and playing like everyone else. Steve, Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor. The quinjet was off, and closed. So, where was Tony?

Pepper turned around just as the door to the quinjet opened again, revealing Tony backing down the ramp, tone cajoling. “Come on, guys. It’s grass! You- no, come on. Just, just try it. It’s not so back, really!” He was saying, continuing to back down the ramp, but stopped when he reached solid ground. He jumped, bouncing on the grass. “See? It’s not bad.”

And then, apparently convinced by Tony’s rambling assurances, Dummy rolled down the ramp. Except instead of the small, skateboard-like wheels that he’d had previously, the ones that could barely get over any obstacle larger than the edge of a rug, he had a massive 6-wheeled array, not unlike the Curiosity rover.

The first wheel hit the grass, and then the rest, and Dummy chirped excitedly before wheeling away over the grass at speed. You and Butterfingers, after seeing their older brother have no issues with the unfamiliar terrain, followed soon after, but with much less… gusto than Dummy, who was rocketing around the lawn like an over-edited puppy.

One of the boys managed to get Dummy to stop his excursion long enough to climb on his strut, and then he was off again, too quick for anyone to tell him that riding Dummy was probably a bad idea. Butterfingers was collecting sticks, and building a tower out of them, while You piled rocks around it. Tony was still standing at the base of the quinjet, looking on proudly as they explored their new world.

A group of kids were trying to herd them towards the trees, towards the fort, and everything clicked into place. Pepper stepped closer, and opened her mouth, but before she could say anything Tony had turned back to look into the quinjet. “You too, J. We don’t have all day!” He called out, still grinning, and the Iron Man suit that had been sitting in the cabin for the whole flight stepped hesitantly out the back hatch, awkward and robotic.

“Sir, I don’t know-” JARVIS started, standing statue-still.

Tony laughed, and lunged forwards to grab the armour’s arm, tugging it down the ramp. “Come on! You’ve gotta meet all the cousins!”

JARVIS moved obligingly, in halting robotic steps onto the grass. “With all due respect, I have met all of them.” He said.

Tony stopped and looked at him. “Yeah, but you haven’t helped with the fort, and if you’re just in a phone the whole time, you don’t get hugs. Don’t you want hugs? I know they want hugs.” He said, gesturing at the cousins playing with the other bots.

As if on cue, one of the little girls ran up, smiling up at JARVIS, and handed him a flower. JARVIS… didn't really seem to know what to do with it, but she was patient, and when he finally held out a hand, palm-up, she dropped it onto the dull surface of the repulsor and beamed. He closed his fingers around it carefully, like it was delicate, which, to the armour, she supposed it was. His first try didn't go so well, and the crumpled flower fell to the ground. “I do not-”

Tony stepped in front of JARVIS as the girl ran off. “Hey. You just need some practice. You’re part of the family, J. It’s- please. Just give it a chance?” He said, and Pepper suddenly felt like she shouldn't be here, intruding on this otherwise private moment, but both of them obviously knew she was there, she was standing at the foot of the ramp just like them and it would be way too awkward to leave now.

JARVIS bowed the armour’s head. “I will try.” He said, and took the final step onto the grass. The girl who had left before ran up to him, followed by her siblings and cousins, holding a huge cluster of flowers. She bounded right up to JARVIS, and held out one of them, the same type as the last one.

JARVIS took it, like he had the last one, and again, the gauntlet curled around it with too much force, crumpling and creasing and flattening the delicate flower. He dropped it to the ground, head bowed, still and forlorn. “I am sorry-”

“It’s ok!” She said, still beaming at him. “There’s lots of flowers!” She said, and undeterred by the fate of the first two, and pressed another flower into his hand. This time, she held on, curling the fingers around the stem, and the flower stayed intact.

It was obvious that JARVIS didn't know what to do, especially when she lunged forwards and hugged the armour and he stayed stiff and still, arms held awkwardly away from his body like he was afraid he would hurt her. He’d met the kids, but it was always through the medium of a phone or tablet or TV, never something physical, never something that they could hug.

And well, hug they did. That first touch opened the floodgates, and soon all the kids that had followed the bots back to the quinjet were running up, talking and laughing and tugging at the armour, which was still and solid in the midst of the excitement, like a cheerful hurricane.

Not even the latest marvel of modern engineering could stand up to a hoard of determined kids, and JARVIS was eventually herded away from the jet, and the house, towards the forest and the creek and the fort. “Those are going to be a bitch to get out later.” He said, directed towards the flowers and leaves that were sticking out of nearly every joint in the armour, bestowed upon JARVIS by the same girl who’d given him the first flowers, but he was grinning, and just sounded proud. He glanced over to her, like he’d forgotten she was even there, and made a complicated expression, scratching at the back of his head. “Look, I know this is weird, but I had to bring them. They’re-”

“Tony.” Pepper stopped him, smiling softly. “They’re your kids. I know you did.” She said, and he looked at her, surprised, and opened his mouth to say something, but Pepper beat him to it. “They are. Whoever said you’d be a terrible father-” Tony flinched, and Pepper reached out to put her hand on his shoulder. “Whoever said that was _hilariously_ wrong. You’re great with kids, Tony. Especially your own.” They stood in companionable silence, until in the distance, Dummy put on a burst of speed and jumped over a small gully, landing perfectly to cheering. Pepper shook her head. “Are you sure the wheels were a good idea?” She asked, as You tried and failed to make the same jump Dummy had, and beeped angrily at his brother. JARVIS took a more cautious route, taking tiny steps into the bottom, and tinier steps back up.

Tony, looking at the scene with his hands on his hips, just grinned. “This wasn't a good idea. This was the best idea.” He said confidently.

Pepper couldn't find it in her to disagree with him.

***

JARVIS walked into the clearing, with the sunlight slanting through the leaves, and the huge fort spread out and green among the trees, and stopped dead.

The kids and the bots rushed around him, gathering branches and flowers and climbing up the ladders and platforms.

Tony stopped beside him, not speaking, just smiling as JARVIS took in everything. “It is…” He said, trailing off at a loss for words. It was one of the first time Pepper had ever seen JARVIS speechless.

“I know, buddy. I know” Tony agreed, to whatever he had heard in JARVIS’s voice. Wonder, and awe, and gratefulness. Tony rocked to the side, bumping their arms together. “Come on. If you don’t start now, Dummy’ll start hogging all the good branches.” He said, grinning, and gestured to the pile of branches near the fort.

JARVIS nodded and took a hesitant step forwards towards the pile. He picked up a branch, and walked towards the fort, where one of the kids, sitting high up in the tree, pointed him towards where he should put the branch. Dummy was right behind him with a branch of his own, and beeped at JARVIS when he didn't move quick enough for his liking. Tony laughed, and picked up another branch.

 

The sun was setting, bathing the clearing with gold-green light, and Tony was helping JARVIS and the bots carve their names into the trunk. Pepper wasn't quite sure how they had all fit inside, considering that the fort, on the inside, at least, was not all that spacious.

They shifted, letting her see the trunk, and the four new initials carved into it, around Tony’s own. JARVIS’s looked like it had been carved with a protractor and ruler, neat and more like a font than writing, and the bots’s were all sharp, straight lines, like a kid’s first try at writing.

They were crouched in a 7 armed hug that should’ve been awkward, with both too many and too little arms, 5 of them metal, but it wasn't.

It was Tony and his kids, and it just looked like family.

The End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm just stunned at the response to this fic. Thank you all so much for leaving kudos and comments, I'm so glad that you enjoyed this.


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